Yugoslavia: A Concise History surveys the whole turbulent course of the country's history, in the context of the struggles between great powers for control of the Balkans. Torn apart by nationalist rivalries, the first Yugoslavia lapsed into paralysis and dictatorship. Axis occupation in 1941 unleashed a murderous civil war, in which the Communist Party emerged victorious. Tito's Yugoslavia appeared to the world as a peaceful, multi-national federation, but in the end disintegrated amid barbarism unknown in Europe for half a century. This revised and fully updated edition explains why, and takes the events up to the arrest of Milosevic in 2001and beyond.
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The fate of Yugoslavia (or what remains of Yugoslavia) can be seen as a wake-up call for the rest of Europe. After two world wars --triggered, to a large extent, by intranational and international ethnic hatreds--it was often assumed that Europe had moved beyond such petty concerns. Yugoslavia, a melange of Croats, Serbs, Slovenes, and other minorities emancipated from the ruins of the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires, seemed a success story. Yet, after the death of Tito, in 1980, the old ethnic hatreds emerged, stoked by opportunistic, nationalist politicians, including Slobodan Milosevic. Benson is professor of history at University College, Northampton, England, and his easily digestible and highly informative survey traces Yugoslav history from the birth of the nation after World War I to its ongoing dissolution over the past two decades. This is a fast-moving narrative history, which glosses over many cultural developments. However, Benson shows great insight in illustrating the historical and cultural factors that prevented true national unity from taking hold in this tortured land. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
"[This] easily digestible and highly informative survey traces Yugoslav history from the birth of the nation after World War I to its ongoing dissolution over the past two decades. . . Benson shows great insight in illustrating the historical and cultural factors that prevented true national unity from taking hold of this tortured land."--Jay Freeman, Booklist
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Seeking to the reveal roots of bitter clashes and struggles,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Yugoslavia: A Concise History: Revised and Updated Edition (Paperback)
Leslie Benson is the Senior Lecturer of Politics and Sociology at University College Northampton, United Kingdom. In Yugoslavia: A Concise History, Professor Benson provides his readers with a straightforward, meticulously researched, and informatively narrated historical study of the fierce ethnic rivalries that have hallmarked the Balkans and frequently erupted into horrific episodes of militant barbarism and the kinds of "ethnic cleansing" atrocities that shocked late twentieth century Europe and America. A thorough examination seeking to the reveal roots of bitter clashes and struggles, Yugoslavia: A Concise History is especially recommended introductory reading for non-specialist general readers with an interest in Yugoslavian history and acquiring a basic understanding of the historical background to the contemporary antagonisms that have so scarred the peoples and territories that once comprised the multi-ethnic nation of Yugoslavia.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Concise - but too scattered and confusing,
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This review is from: Yugoslavia: A Concise History: Revised and Updated Edition (Paperback)
There were too many individuals named once and not described or continuing any major themes in this all too condensed walkthrough. There is too little overview to provide guideposts through this morass. I came to this hoping to get a glimpse of understanding about all the hatreds. Why did the croats form the chetniks and kill serbs nd yet become part of yugoslavia? Why did the croats and serbs kill so many ofthe bosniaks and muslims (especially after Tito's demise (remember Srbrenica?)?) Why did the serbs hate the shwabians so much they annihilated them from yugoslavia? Why do hungarians hate serbs so much yet fear them in the Vojvodina (Devidek?) so much that they have left in droves yet remain silent? And then there are the slovenes now in their own country and albanians in Kosovo .. .what a mess of hatreds and killing fields! Some of it became clearer -- the realtionships between croats serbs and bosniaks, and their separation in political development; but even this was a real struggle to understand. Perhaps this is all too confusing for anyone to create clarity; but for me this pretty much failed.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
bo,
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This review is from: Yugoslavia: A Concise History (Hardcover)
very thorough review, at least to a non-history major.
was very focused on the political parties and changes through the years. i would have liked more info on the particular peoples involved ( serbs, croats, muslims, etc) instead of the overlying politic/military battles.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
It took the destruction of two great empires to make room for the formation of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918, a new state created out of the marcher lands straddling the Ottoman and Habsburg dominions. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
advanced republics, state presidency, peasant party, opposition deputies, federal status Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
League of Communists, Central Committee, South Slav, Croatian Peasant Party, United States, Yugoslav People's Army, Bosnian Serbs, Constituent Assembly, Slovene People's Party, European Union, Yugoslav Muslim Organization, Bosnian Muslims, Communist Party of Yugoslavia, Croatian Democratic Union, Kosovar Albanians, Liberation Army, Democratic Club, Eastern Europe, Executive Committee, Federal Executive Council, Great Serbia, National Council, Republika Srpska, Serbian Radical Party, United Nations New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
It took the destruction of two great empires to make room for the formation of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918, a new state created out of the marcher lands straddling the Ottoman and Habsburg dominions. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
advanced republics, state presidency, peasant party, opposition deputies, federal status Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
League of Communists, Central Committee, South Slav, Croatian Peasant Party, United States, Yugoslav People's Army, Bosnian Serbs, Constituent Assembly, Slovene People's Party, European Union, Yugoslav Muslim Organization, Bosnian Muslims, Communist Party of Yugoslavia, Croatian Democratic Union, Kosovar Albanians, Liberation Army, Democratic Club, Eastern Europe, Executive Committee, Federal Executive Council, Great Serbia, National Council, Republika Srpska, Serbian Radical Party, United Nations New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 36
books:
See all 36 books this book cites
- Explaining Yugoslavia by John B. Allcock on 4 pages
- New Class by Milovan Djilas on page 98, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Essay on Yugoslav Society by B. Horvat in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Conversations with Stalin by Milovan Djilas in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- A Short History of the Yugoslav Peoples by Fred Singleton in Table of Contents, and Back Matter
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